Facebook and Google will start requiring COVID vaccines for people coming back to work

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As more people (but not enough) get the COVID-19 vaccine in the US, companies are starting to wrestle with protocols for employees returning to the offices. For two of the larger companies in the US – Facebook and Google – the decision is becoming clear for workers in the US – get vaccinated.

Both companies announced this week that it would require employees to have the vaccination in order to return to work.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the policy in an email to staff. A Facebook spokesperson revealed the news from Facebook’s Vice President of People, Lori Goler, in a tweet.

It’s not yet clear how either company plans to enforce the new policies, or what will happen to employees that refuse to get vaccinated. Facebook did make it clear that it would work with people that could not receive the vaccine for “medical or other reasons,” however.

Currently, these policies from Google and Facebook have only been confirmed for employees in the US, but as the Delta variant continues to spread and people either refuse to get the vaccine (or it isn’t available), it will be interesting to see how these companies adapt in the coming months.

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